A Surprising Factor Helped Supercharge Florida’s Catastrophic 2023 Hurricane Idalia

A previously overlooked factor may have contributed to the debilitating strength of Hurricane Idalia, which cost the United States billions of dollars when it struck in August 2023. According to a team of researchers that studied the climatic conditions around the storm, the typical cocktail of weather conditions that feed a hurricane doesn’t add up in Idalia’s case. The team’s research analyzing the storm’s evolution was published last month in Environmental Research Letters. The team found that the usual suspects—warm sea surface temperatures, ocean heat beneath the surface, and low vertical wind shear all played a role in Idalia’s intensification. But the team found that a freshwater plume—including river discharge into the Gulf—created a density gradient between the surface water and deeper, cooler water, allowing Idalia to continue to draw strength from the warmth of the Gulf’s surface. “Wind wants to mix the water, bringing cold water up to the surface and warm water down to t ... Read full article.